The New York Times reports that Gov. David Paterson personally directed two state employees to contact the woman who told police she was assaulted by her then boyfriend, a top aide to Paterson, but later failed to press charges.

A Paterson administration official speaking on the condition of anonymity confirms the two employees were directed by Paterson to contact the woman, but denied that the state employees sought to persuade the woman to drop her charge or change her story.

The administration official says one of the workers, press officer Marissa Shorenstein, was directed by Paterson directly to contact the woman, Sherruna Booker, but only to seek Booker’s public statement. The official who spoke wasn’t authorized to speak for Paterson.